Recipe: A list of ingredients and the directions for preparing food…
‘Recipe’ comes from the Latin ‘recipere’: ‘re-‘ means ‘back’ or ‘again’ and ‘capere’ means ‘to take.’
Originally ‘recipe’ was used by doctors. They’d write ‘recipe’ at the top of their prescriptions, meaning ‘take this medicine repeatedly’. Over time ‘recipe’ was used in cooking, describing ingredients, quantities, instructions and procedures…
It would be good to have a life-recipe – the ingredients, quantities, instructions and procedures required to make the best medicine to heal, the best food to nourish and enjoy…
Musing… two pointers from yesterday:
Use available ingredients: Steven Hawking, a respected, famous scientist, living with motor neurone disease, wrote: ‘I have had a full and satisfying life. I believe that disabled people should concentrate on things that their handicap doesn’t prevent them from doing and not regret those they can’t do.’
In recent conversations with older friends we’ve recognised that we don’t have some of the life ingredients we enjoyed previously – physical strength, mental capacity… close family members and friends that are no longer around…
Hawking says concentrate on and use the ingredients you have; don’t spend time and energy regretting what ingredients aren’t available.
Take care when selecting different ingredients: James and John were two of Jesus’ close friends. Their mum asked Jesus: ‘Promise me that when you’re king my two sons will sit one at your right and the other at your left.’
She was a good mother. She wanted the best ingredients for her sons’ life-recipes. Jesus replied: ‘You don’t know what you’re asking.’ What might appear to be good, wholesome ingredients might actually not be the best.
Friends going are through times of change. They’re moving house, applying for new jobs, entering new relationships. They think they know what new ingredients are necessary for their life-recipe…
This morning I’m praying to God, my consultant-doctor, my master-chef… seeing clearly the available ingredients, taking care when selecting new ingredients… combined in the right proportions… my life-recipe for today will be healing, nourishing and enjoyable.
malcolmsmusings.org 
That is a powerful quote by Stephen Hawking that can be applied to anyone’s life if considering skill levels beyond one’s capabilities. Thanks for sharing his quote, Malcolm. 🙂
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The more I read about Stephen Hawking the more intrigued I am. He certainly knew about Christian faith, and with all of his scientific studies about time and the universe, a lot of what he said had implications about faith and God.
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Excellent post and wonderful quote you shared 🌺
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Thanks, Julie. I’m not sure that my morning prayer has been quite like that before.
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You’ve got me thinking, Malcolm. What ingredients do I want to put in my life-recipe for today? Let’s see . . . gratitude always tastes good, and laughter too. Time in God’s Word offers sustenance, and looking for ways to bless others always spices things up. No doubt there are many more ingredients that could be added, to make a delicious day. Thank you for the interesting inspiration, Malcolm!
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It strangely – perhaps worryingly – encouraging, Nancy, that other folks have minds that work in a similar way to mine!
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